the imf and the eu already pledged money to support the beleaguered economy. i jubilation and towns across northern mali. people here know how fragile of their security is. the militants may have vanished for now and the desert, but any sign of weakness and they could return. few relished the prospect of a long guerrilla war. >> let's get the latest live from timbuktu. tom went into timbuktu with the troops and he joins us live. the islamist rebels out of sight but not out of mind? >> exactly. they are believed to be hiding in surrounding desert. but i can tell you the tension is rising here in timbuktu. there are scenes of looting downtown, with dozens of people out in the streets going one shop after the other, targeting shops that were held by ethnic touraregs. accusing them of collaborating with ms -- islamists and they say they are hiding arms, cash, and weapons. the malian army deployed in town, and is trying to contain the crowd, although it is not clear because there also kind of smiling and waving at the crowd. they have pulled out of boxes of weapons